A firsthand account of survival during the floods in Emilia-Romagna, Italy (May 2023)
Interviewee: Marco Bellini, 42, former café owner
Location: Cesena, Italy
Q: Marco, what happened that night?
Marco:
It started raining two days before. At first, we thought it was just another spring storm. But it didn’t stop. By midnight on the third day, the river had overflowed. The water came fast — not slowly creeping, like in the movies. It was roaring.
Q: Were you warned in advance?
Marco:
There were alerts, yes, but nothing that truly captured the urgency. My wife said, “We should pack a bag.” I didn’t listen. An hour later, water was in the house. By the time we left, it was chest-deep. We lost everything. Our home. My café. My car.
Q: How did you manage to escape?
Marco:
We climbed onto the roof. A rescue team in a boat found us around 5 in the morning. I remember the silence when we were drifting over what used to be my street. Only rooftops and water. It didn’t feel real.
Q: What happened after?
Marco:
We stayed in a school gymnasium for three weeks. My 9-year-old daughter kept asking when we’d go home. I didn’t know what to say. Everything we had built over 15 years was washed away in a single night.
Q: What would you tell people in other countries who think this won’t happen to them?
Marco:
You think these disasters are far away — until it’s your house, your street, your child shaking in your arms. The climate is changing. That’s no longer a question. It’s about how fast we adapt.
Editor’s Note:
The May 2023 floods in Emilia-Romagna were among the worst in Italy’s recent history. Over 36,000 people were displaced, and billions of euros in damages were recorded. Marco’s story is one of many — a reminder that climate-related disasters are becoming more sudden, more severe, and more personal.